


The Burden of Innocence

by shizutans



Category: Karneval
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, this is so bad oh my god
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-30
Updated: 2014-03-30
Packaged: 2018-01-17 12:35:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1387846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shizutans/pseuds/shizutans
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Gareki, what’s a kiss?"</p><p>Despite such a question catching Gareki off-guard, it was a situation he should have eventually expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Burden of Innocence

Nai had always been an innocent soul. Reality and its cruel tendencies seemed to have lost itself somewhere in his oblivious state of mind, constantly wandering about the world with a bright smile on his face. With Nai came a curiosity abundant in size, and although Gareki liked to have his fun, he made sure to answer his questions honestly more often than not. Teasing him just proved too fun sometimes, like when he told Nai yogurt was actually made out of fairy dust and his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. 

In time, Gareki slowly found himself questioning things he never really cared to look twice at before. 

"Gareki, what’s a kiss?"

So despite such a question catching Gareki off-guard, it was a situation he should have eventually expected.

After all, he was the person Nai trusted most.

...

How on earth was he going to explain an intimate action to Nai— the boy who wasn’t even fully aware of what blood was —so easily? Ruby eyes looked up at him, awaiting the others response as they brimmed with interest. 

He gulped nervously.

If only he had a "How To Convey The Definition of A Kiss Without Sounding Stupid 101" guide right about now.

"A kiss is…erm…it's—it happens," He sighed. "It’s something that happens when two people really like each other."

"Like each other?" Nai tilted his head to the left, intrigued by this new found information.

"Uh, yeah. From what I've been told, liking someone is…" He paused awkwardly. 

"Your heart beats fast, and you seem to gravitate towards that person more often than not. You don’t want any harm to come to them because you care for them deeply, and uh, you think they’re cute. The world also becomes a better place in your eyes when…" At this, Gareki trailed off, eyebrows furrowing in realization.

_Come to think of it..._

He couldn’t stop the heat from rising to his face as he shook his head back and forth rapidly. _No, of course not! What the hell am I thinking!?_

"Gareki, why is your face so red? Are you okay?"

"I-It’s nothing! Anyway, you trust them, learn from them, and want nothing but good things to come to that person. You hold a special place for them in your heart. Got it? There’s really nothing more I can say."

"I understand! So it’s how I feel about you, right? Liking someone?" Nai shouted excitedly, oblivious to his sudden confession.

Gareki froze, eyes widening in embarrassment. 

"What!? Wait! No! No, t-that’s not…"

By now, Gareki had taken up the work of the sun. He took a deep breath, exhaling shortly afterwards as he gave Nai a hard glare that could easily be considered third degree if anyone else was in the room. Of course, Nai was not affected, and instead remained with his head tilted like a puppy, confused at the others reaction. Gareki leaned forward further to look Nai straight in the eyes, glaring.

"Hey, you. Does your heart beat really fast when you’re with me?”

"Yup!" He announced proudly.

"…You like it when I’m happy?"

"When Gareki’s happy, I’m happy! It hurts me when you’re not."

Gareki's jaw clenched tightly in frustration. Was this just Nai’s friendly way of saying that he cares about him, or was this more?

_It’s just impossible to understand an airheads logic. Okay, I should go with something more direct and simple._

"D-Do...Do you sometimes want to…touch me?"

"Huh? Touch you? Like this?" Nai’s hand tentatively reached for Gareki, pointing his index finger outwards and lightly poking Gareki on the shoulder like a child—which he was, in a way. An exasperated sigh left Gareki’s lips, and he let his head hang low. "Did I do it wrong? Was I supposed to tickle you instead? I'm sorry, Gareki! I just thought, I mean whenever I tried to tickle you, you would make weird noises and yell at me so! I thought you didn't like it and..."

_This is probably just another misunderstanding. Nai doesn’t understand what he’s saying, and he probably meant nothing more than being friends. Right. Nothing more._

"Nevermin—"

"Why don’t we do the kiss?" Nai interposed casually, as if kissing was as easy an activity for him as picking up a pencil.

"What!?" Gareki sputtered, completely caught off-guard once again by his straight forward nature.

"B-But you said it’s what two people do when they like each other, right? Is it like a card game?"

Gareki was one dumb question away from face palming. Despite being an atheist, for a moment he seriously contemplates whether or not he's going to be dragged down into hell for tainting such innocence.

Fuck it. Here goes nothing.

"It’s not a card game, Nai. It’s not a game at all. That’s why, I’ll ask you now. Do you like me more than you would like a friend?" Silence ringed in his ears as he watched Nai cogitate his question.

"More than a friend? You are my friend! But…Gareki is different from the others. He’s special! I don’t understand it, but..."

Gareki chose to ignore the uncomfortably warm feeling in his stomach, drinking in Nai's sheepishness. He was twiddling his thumbs and everything.

_Cute._

"Then let’s try it."

"Okay…?" Nai responded, a bit unsure as to what he was planning on doing.

As Gareki got closer, Nai found himself quickly becoming flushed and nervous, the others lips only inches away from his. The only other thing he was able to hear besides the pounding of his heart, was the weak murmur of Gareki’s name right before they kissed. He wasn’t even aware he was speaking, really. Time seemed to freeze as their mouths locked and soldered against each other, and the foreign sensation forced Nai to close his eyes tightly.

He kissed back.

His heart was no longer the usual military one-two step, instead beating erratically within his lean chest. Nai wanted to say something, but his train of thought had been frankly thrown out the window and he felt dizzy, vision hazy and a strange fluttering in his stomach.

Apparently, Gareki's forbearance had cracked, because suddenly there was a change of pace and a tongue invading Nai's mouth. It was quite alarming at first and Nai panicked, but it felt good. Gareki's deft hand tenderly caressing his cheek, and the heat of his breath when dipping in for another kiss were things he could feel all too well. There was the awkward and clumsy clacking of teeth at times, but that was to be expected of a first kiss. 

Minutes passed before hesitant separation, in which they stared at each other in silence. Nai’s face was dazed and beaming, and if it wasn’t for the tension in the air, Gareki would have most likely snorted at the comical reaction.

“Nai? Oi, Nai!"

Nai startled and blinked, withdrawing from his reverie. "...T-That was slippery!"

Gareki bit the inside of his cheek to keep the amusement from showing on his face at his choice of words. "Yeah, that’s what you call a kiss," A pause. "You didn’t like it?"

"No!"

Gareki retracted, letting go of his grip on the others shoulders immediately due to the loud outburst. _He didn’t like it. This was a mistake. I should have known better than to—_

"Um…Gareki, a-actually—! …Can we do that again?" He exclaimed, eyes glimmering in excitement.

**Author's Note:**

> Here's something cute and fluffy for your hearts because I am having major feels and there is not nearly enough GareNai fics to save my soul. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Constructive criticism is always appreciated. You can find me on tumblr @ shizutans.


End file.
